We absolutely love to experience new places and new classes, so back in the second half of 2018 we were incredibly excited to hear that a toddler and baby theatre class was coming to Birmingham. I knew right away that it was going to be the perfect class for Jemima.
Fast forward to the 28th April, the Summer Term has commenced and we have waved goodbye to the fantastic Spring Term of Tiny Dancers, run by One Day Theatre.
What did the Spring Term involve?
We had lots of fantastic new songs for children where they could sing, dance and play musical instruments. The songs are cleverly chosen to help teach children alongside the EYFS curriculum.
Jemimas favourite song of the term was “I’ve got a body, a very busy body” which I have to admit is rather catchy and I find myself singing it around the house and on the school run. It’s perfect for ages 0-4 as it is a song where children can learn body parts and familiarise themselves with them and if they already know their body parts they can enjoy following the actions of the song, sing along, dance and burn off some of that toddler/pre-school energy.
My personal favourite song is the “Driving in my car” song. It involves parents getting involved and is a chance for some giggles with your little ones as they sit on your legs as you bounce them up and down, using your bodies to perform various car actions eg. “The lights go flash”, “the wipers go swish” and “the horn goes beep”.
All of the children love this song too and there is often a flurry of children who run up to sit on Megs lap (Jemima included).
Meg is the lovely artistic director and class teacher of Tiny Dancers. She’s fun, energetic, engaging and is loved by all of the children. Megs personal talents as an actress come out throughout the 50 minute sessions. Meg can sing, dance and play instruments – and she does, in abundance, with all of the children joining in enthusiastically.
Sometimes during the sessions, children get up to explore their surroundings (you can guarantee it happens to all of us at some point) but that’s okay in these classes. The sessions are so great that within minutes the children are back to taking part.
Although the session is 50 minutes, the activities within the session are varied to include something for all children’s tastes and it means that childrens attention spans are kept. Each weekly class of a term is very similar as children learn much quicker through repetition and many children like routine. Actually, I’m sure us adults do too.
The parachute and bubbles from the previous term have stayed and I’m sure they will at the end of every terms class. The children love this section and it helps them to understand that they are now not far from the end of the class.
Top 5 things that Jemima has learnt in the Spring Term (with thanks to Oneday Theatre) :
- Days of the week (every week we sang a song called ‘Days of the Week’)
- Counting (using songs such as The Animals went marching and Anansi)
- New Vocabulary – now knows the words canter, gallop and trot plus many more
- The difference between loud/quiet, fast/slow, high/low (through a musical instrument activity with sticks)
- Turn Taking
This is a perfect session for children from 3 months to 3-4 years. There are lots of opportunities for learning. All of the rhymes and exercises develop your child across the 7 areas of the EYFS.
Where and when does Tiny Dancers run?
Tuesdays at Moorpool Hall, Harborne at 9:30am – 10:20am and 10:30am – 11:20am.
Thursdays at Boston Tea Party, Harborne at 9:40am – 10:30am.
If you would like to book a trial class with Meg or would like further information, please email her at hello@onedaytheatre.org
Please do check out my previous reviews on Oneday Theatre here:
1st Tiny Dancers class that we attended: https://www.smallhousebigtrips.co.uk/tiny-dancers-by-oneday-theatre/
Tiny Dancers Christmas Party: https://www.smallhousebigtrips.co.uk/one-day-theatre-tiny-dancers-christmas-party-3/
Oneday Theatre Birthday Parties: https://www.smallhousebigtrips.co.uk/onedaytheatrebirthdayparties
Oneday Theatre Sass Class for 16’s and over: https://www.smallhousebigtrips.co.uk/sass-class/
